Gilbert couple files claim against city for denying medical-pot permit

by Parker Leavitt - Jul. 26, 2011 11:23 AMThe Arizona Republic

Two would-be medical-marijuana dispensary owners have filed a claim against Gilbert after the Town Council denied their application for a use permit in June.

Sonoran Star Remedies, proposed near McQueen and Baseline roads, incurred $25,630 in leasing costs, permit fees and legal expenses while the company was "duped" by the town, according to the notice of claim.

The claim, filed by Phoenix law firm Smith & Craven on behalf of dispensary owners Paul and Robin Schroeder, demands the immediate reinstatement of the use permit.

"The town's stripping of my client's use permit was in derogation to my client's . . . rights to due process, as well as a violation of state statute," the claim says.

When the proposed dispensary came before the Gilbert Planning Commission in May, it won the blessing of town officials and a majority of the commission, which approved the use permit with a 6-1 vote.

That decision followed a lengthy debate over a challenge from nearby business owner Joe Turner, who claimed the dispensary site is within 1,000 feet of a park and therefore in violation of code restrictions adopted in January.

Pot dispensaries and cultivation sites are not permitted within 1,000 feet of a day-care center, school, park or place of worship.

The edge of a retention basin in the Cooper Ranch community is about 750 feet from the proposed site for Sonoran Star Remedies. The private park also includes a basketball court and open grass area.

Town planners did not consider the retention basin part of the park because no sidewalks lead to it, and it lacks benches or congregating areas. Instead, the town measured the distance to the park's basketball court, which is outside the required 1,000 separation distance.

When the case came before the Town Council on June 9, the group overturned the Planning Commission's decision, putting the kibosh on two dispensaries' plans with a unanimous vote.

Then-Councilwoman Linda Abbott said the definition of "park" should be clarified in the Land Development Code. The document does not define parks.

Paul and Robin Schroeder, two Gilbert residents, had hoped to open Sonoran Star Remedies on a "mom-and-pop" model.

Robin has a degree in botany from Arizona State University and experience working for culinary herb farms and nurseries. Paul has a master's in business administration and what he calls a "strong entrepreneurial spirit."

They were motivated to launch a dispensary in part by the loss of friends and a family member to cancer, Robin said.

"My client had followed all town procedure and protocol to apply for a use permit, which the town's Planning Commission reviewed and approved," the claim said.

"Given the town's decision to redefine 'park,' it is clear that my client [was] duped by the town into an illusory belief that acquisition of a medicinal-marijuana use permit was possible," the claim said.

Paul and Robin Schroeder declined to comment, and the town does not comment on pending claims.